In Which I Lash Out Viciously at Annoying Things

[allyndra]

This is all grouching. Feel free to skip.

Okay, this may seem petty, but I'm growing increasingly annoyed when I see bad writing or poor quality art being gushed over. I don't think it's sour grapes, because I get nice comments that I truly appreciate when I post. But I'm having to resist the strong urge to leave anonymous comments saying, "No, it's not amazing. It's poorly characterized and badly in need of a beta, so stop encouraging the author with chants of 'Sequel PLZ!'" Aren't they supposed to keep that kind of stuff over in the Pit of Voles? In some of my fandoms, it's no problem at all, but Torchwood has quality appreciation issues. There are some fabulous authors, but those aren't the ones who are bugging me. Does anyone else feel the same desire to chastize the readers who can't tell the difference between good fic and bad? Or is it just me?

Also, the John Paul/Craig Dean shippers (known as McDeaners) are starting to frustrate me. I loved John Paul and Craig. Their storyline was emotional and sexy and riveting. But Craig left and John Paul didn't, and the John Paul/Father Keiron storyline is pretty darn emotional and sexy, too. Saying, "Bring Craig back!" every two seconds or demanding a sunset ending is not going to make the writers more likely to give us good plots and emotional arcs for our favorite characters, especially if Guy Burnet really doesn't want to play Craig anymore. Write good fanfic where John Paul and Craig get back together, put together vids of them, make art and icons. But stop grumbling about the lack of Craig on every clip from the current episodes.

And finally, kink fic is not hot to me if the characters seem like cardboard cutouts, I don't care how many ropes they're tied up with or what position they're in. I mean "Gil is a Master and Nick and Greg are his slaves" is a stretch to start with, but if you don't make any attempt to tie them back to the characters I know, it's poorly thought out OC erotica, not fanfic. And next time I see the word "cum" in a story, I'm clicking the back button immediately.

/rant

Comments

[hull1984.livejournal.com]

OMG! Thank you so much for saying exactly what I've been thinking!! Right down to the temptation to go anonymous (something I've always sworn I wouldn't do!).

Torchwood fandom has scarily low standards if all the gushing and rec'ing is anything to go by. I love janto_recs but currently it seems to have been hi-jacked by one reccer in particular. Now, while I respect her right to rec anything she enjoyed - which currently seems to be anything she's read - it's putting me off the site and I think it's an insult to fics that deserve to be on there. (to be fair I must also say that some of her recs are good).

There are also certain authors that I won't even click on their stories anymore and yet they continue to get numerous, gushing comments. I think sometimes it must be for the sheer number of fics they post - if you see the same name often enough, do you perhaps assume they must be a well known name in that fandom, and therefore must be good?

I have never left a negative comment on a fic - I know all too well how terrifying it can be to post in the first place - and I'm all for encouraging people to write, especially when they're new to it, but sometimes I think silence really is golden.

And ditto to the JP/Keiron too. While I enjoyed the JP/Craig (what little I saw at the time *grumble*) I think the JP/K is much more compelling - and frustrating!! I'm just hoping that now it looks like everyone is going to find out that silly Keiron realises he can't live without the lovely John Paul...and hopefully we'll get to see the nice make-up session ;)

[allyndra.livejournal.com]

Torchwood readers really are the worst offenders I've seen lately. In most of my other fandoms, bad fic might get a few really good comments, but in Torchwood they get pages. It's very odd (and annoying).

I'm just hoping that now it looks like everyone is going to find out that silly Keiron realises he can't live without the lovely John Paul Did you see tonight's episode? *claps hands* Of course, they cheated us out of the make-up session, but still. Yay! (and Kris is my favorite character lately. I used to dislike him terribly, but ever since he and John Paul made up, I just love him to pieces. He's so funny, and he makes good sense.)

I enjoyed the JP/Craig (what little I saw at the time *grumble*) crumpetsandjam from James Sutton Fans (http://www.jamessuttonfans.com) has put together a timeline of the John Paul and Craig storyline here (http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=7D1F38200B994CDF), with links to all the video clips. Beware, though. I lost hours watching them.